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Memorial To Founders Of Wagner Mercenary Group Appears In Siberia On Anniversary Of Their Deaths


Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of the Wagner mercenary group who died on August 23 in a suspicious plane crash. (file photo)
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of the Wagner mercenary group who died on August 23 in a suspicious plane crash. (file photo)

Large portraits of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, the deceased founders of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, appeared in Narym park in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on August 23, the first anniversary of their deaths in a suspicious plane crash. A makeshift memorial erected near the portraits includes two flags with Wagner symbols. Prigozhin's forces launched a rebellion in June 2023 and briefly took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don. Many believe the plane crash two months later was orchestrated by the Kremlin in retaliation. The Kremlin has denied the assertion and no evidence to back up the claim has been found. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

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